US Ambassador to Russia John F. Tefft said during his familiarization tour of VSMPO-AVISMA facilities in Verkhnyaya Salda that he intended to facilitate development of cooperation with the titanium giant.
A US Embassy delegation has toured the key production divisions of VSMPO and Russian-American Joint Venture Ural Boeing Manufacturing (UBM). Talks with VSMPO-AVISMA CEO Mikhail Voevodin were the core of the visit. When John Tefft spoke about his impressions after the talks, he noted that he had not expected to see such impressive results of the joint business and found them delightful.
“VSMPO-AVISMA and UBM, its joint venture with Boeing, which I have visited today, are one of the best, shining examples of effective cooperation between Russia and the US. The companies have now been developing technology solutions for aircraft manufacturing together for decades, with thousands of Russian and US experts involved in the process,” the Ambassador said. “VSMPO-AVISMA produces several components which no other facility in the world manufactures. Russia’s VSMPO-AVISMA and Boeing are global leaders in their fields, and it is very important that their strategic partnership is based on mutual business interest and mutual trust.”
VSMPO-AVISMA CEO Mihail Voevodis spoke about the company’s development strategy, pointing out the key areas and directions of cooperation with US companies, which dates back to 1993.
VSMPO-AVISMA and its JV with Boeing UBM is one of the most prominent examples of effective cooperation between Russia and the US
John F. Tefft, US Ambassador to Russia
“We have been cooperating successfully with Boeing for more than two decades. Our partnership [that includes] [titanium] deliveries and our joint research and development center, UBM, is a good, convincing example of international cooperation which brings synergies that benefit the economies of both our countries,” VSMPO-AVISMA CEO said.
Mikhail Voevodin also said that work is underway to establish a joint venture with another US industrial giant, Alcoa. It should become the next step in developing cooperation between Russian and US companies to meet the growing needs of aircraft manufacturers worldwide.
Ural Boeing Manufacturing started operations in 2009. VSMPO-AVISMA currently provides up to 40% of the titanium Boeing requires, and all the civil aircraft by this US manufacturer are made with some Russian titanium in them.
In July 2014, Boeing and VSMPO-AVISMA renewed their contract for titanium supplies until the year 2022.
